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We have a new 150 gallon aquarium with a new Fluval FX5. We are experiencing cloudy water and I know the tank has to cycle. It has been a week since the tank has been set up and we are seeing small white particles floating at the top of the tank water. Are we adding enough media?

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Kent Marine Pro Clear works wonders for cloudiness. For particles it couple be from your gravel and you may need to use a gravel cleaner and do a water chafe to get them out. Gravel must be rinsed a lot before use. If it's not gravel make sure your media is secure and not getting pumped out of the filter. Caribsea also makes a clarifier that works.

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need time for bacteria to grow. add crushed oyster shells in secondary filter. small box with 3" of shells, maybe16" wide 4ft long. gravity feed your water over shells by adding 1 1/2" pipe w/100 1/8" holes drilled, so water spray's evenly over shells. this way you wound"t disrupt the shells. so, feed water to shells, and back to storage tank. add some bacteria to shells, (many ways to get or grow your own bacteria). you can also place fiber glass insulation on top of shells to clear water. remove fiber glass when it gets bad. there's good bacteria to save in the glass. good luck. jp

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Thank you for your question. If you are looking to have about a 2 inch thick layer of substrate on the bottom of your aquarium, we would recommend that you use about 64 pounds of gravel. If you used 3 bags of the 20 pound bags, this would be very close to that amount.

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for a stocked system 2 emperor 400 hang on filters would be the best route- if a minimum amount of live stock is kept you could get the same results with only 1 emperor 400 as they are rated 35-90 gallons, they have a nice screen intake that fish can not swim into- if you dont want the hang on the back style Fluval makes several canister filters that would work also ,personally the emperors would be the method I would use. 2 of them would give you 800 gallon per hour turn over, that would be hard for any other filter in the price range to compete plus the emperor filters will use any media in provided trays or simple way just use the rite size E filter cartridges in them for easy use!

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Thank you for your question. Please contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-381-7179 or email Customerservice@DrsFosterSmith.com as more information is needed to better answer your question. cmc

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Answers

THE MOST SIMPLE WAY TO GO WOULD BE A PAIR OF EMPEROR 400 HANG ON FILTERS. 1 WOULD GET YOU BY BUT WITH 2 COULD USE 2 CARTRIDGES AND 2 CHEMICAL MEDIA TRAYS IN EACH. IF YOU NEED MOVEMENT FOR CORALS YOU COULD EVEN ADD A POWERHEAD TO THE ABOVE PAIR. IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION 55 GALLON IS REALLY TOO SMALL TO WORRY ABOUT A SUMP.

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Here is one of the more popular aquarium filter that has capabilities for a 55 gallon aquarium and is reasonable: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3610&pcatid=3610

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Answers

I HAVE HAD BULBS STILL PRODUCE FOR LONGER THAN A YEAR AND I COULD EASILY SAY GO BY THAT FOR A FISH ONLY TANK BUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A REEF TANK 6-9 MONTH MAX- AFTER THE 6 MONTH MARK THEY JUST DONT PUT OUT AS MUCH LIGHT

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This depends on a number of things. 1) Do you have live plants? 2) Are you just interested in seeing the colors of your fish? 3) How often and how long do you use your lights? 4) Is the color temperature important to you?

Fluorescent lights do change their properties over time, but if you are only interested in seeing your fish, just wait 'til they burn out. You can tell if lights are getting old by examining the ends of the tubes. Darkening indicates that they are getting old and might not be performing up-to-par. At this point, you might not be getting the full spectrum of light needed for plants. If you need a particular color temperature, I would recommend purchasing a color temperature meter.

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Thank you for your question. Standard fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every 6-18 months. T-5 HO fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every 16-24 months. VHO fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every 4-18 months. Lastly, compact fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every 12-24 months. However, it is best to change bulbs sooner than later to ensure the health and well-being of the specimens in your aquarium.

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